Do Canadian Entertainers Have an equal Opportunity to Reach the American Dream?

A definition for The American Dream may be different for everybody. For this essay, however, the definition of The American Dream shall be the ability to substantially move forward - whether economically, socially, or even personally. It must be a recognizable improvement in the quality of life of an individual. In addition, there are a variety of ways where the substantial improvement to the quality life can occur. There is no one certain path that gives successes to people in the United States. Many Canadian entertainers are doing well in their home country, but it is when they move to the United States [a much bigger market] that their career often takes off and opportunities increase. This can and does lead to more visibility and financial reward. There are more people in the State of California than there is in all of Canada. The United States just provides more opportunity for individuals in the entertainment industry. Those immigrants from Canada in the field of entertainment have an equal chance at reaching the American Dream.

In one of Eminem’s (a multi-platinum selling American rapper) song, So Bad, he recites “I am the definition of The American Dream.” Eminem is claiming that because he worked so hard, went through so many struggles, and turned out to be a millionaire, he is a living example of The American Dream. The American Dream can involve improving one’s lifestyle, and he clearly improved the overall quality of his life with the success of his music. Eminem went from being dirt poor to having a net worth of over $170 million dollars. Celine Dion is a Canadian singer, actress, songwriter, and entrepreneur who has a net worth of $630 million dollars. Dion is known for her powerful, technically skilled vocals. Celine Dion was born in Charlemagne, Québec, and like Eminem, started out not very wealthy. She was the youngest of fourteen children, so she lived a relatively poor lifestyle. “At the age of twelve, Dion composed a song in her native French and sent it to a record company.” She knew she wanted to sing at the age of twelve. From then on she became very dedicated and worked hard for her music career to launch. It was not until she went to the United States in 1991 that her career led to fortune. Soon, she was nominated for a Grammy and an Oscar - and received both - for her song in the Disney movie, The Beauty and the Beast. Clearly she improved her lifestyle, going from a poor family to having a net worth of $630 million dollars. It took hard work, dedication, and mostly going to the United States to pursue her dream in order to reach it at such a successful level.

Although The American Dream is portrayed as going from poor to significantly rich, it really means moving forward towards a better lifestyle. Seth Rogen was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, and lived a relatively comfortable lifestyle. But his dream of becoming a comedian started when he was young. “At 16, Rogan came in second place in the 1998 Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest.” He is admirable because he stayed with his dream since he was a little kid. He started to get noticed, and his breakthrough was when he played a role in the American television show Freaks and Geeks. Although it only lasted one season, he, as wells as James Franco and Jason Segal, were offered many acting jobs. Now he has a net worth of $45 million and is married. If The American Dream is to be rich and start a family, he has it. When he was living in Canada, he was still funny and a great comedian, but due to Canada’s comparable inability to launch a worldwide known star, he needed to make a move. Now he lives in America and is a commonly known actor. He substantially made his life better because he started to get noticed in the United States.

Another famous Canadian is Matthew Perry - also known as
Chandler Bing from the 90s sitcom Friends. Perry was raised in Ottawa, Ontario, “where he became a top-ranked junior tennis player in Canada.” Before he started acting he had great interests in other things. But, when he moved to the United States when he was 15, he realized it was something he wanted to pursue. When he was about to go to the University of Southern California he was offered an acting job. He went for it and it surely paid off. He was willing to take risks to pursue his dreams, and that also can be a characteristic of The American Dream, a willingness to take risks to reach a certain goal. Life went on and he landed a leading role in the show Friends. To this day it still plays worldwide, and he made $1 million dollars per episode in its final year of production. Matthew Perry was able to reach his potential because he moved to the United States. The United States offers seeming unlimited possibilities for success in achieving The American Dream.

Those examples are a few out of hundreds; some others are Ryan Reynolds, Ryan Gosling, and Drake. These examples all show that they substantially made their lives better by moving to the United States. Adrian Grenier states”I think, in a lot of ways, celebrities represent the American dream. They have financial fluidity and options at their disposal.” This shows that being rich and famous can be the American Dream for some people. Therefore, Canadian Entertainers have equally opportunity to substantially improve their lifestyle. The United States offers a better opportunity to reach The American Dream.